


We Are Not Beautiful - PROLOGUE

by orphan_account



Series: We Are Not Beautiful [1]
Category: Lore Olympus (Webcomic)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:14:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21945670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After Hades and Persephone get married, Minthe is left to figure what to do with her life. Just as she feels hopelessly lost, unable to find even a shred of happiness, things take an unexpected turn.
Series: We Are Not Beautiful [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583164
Comments: 14
Kudos: 48





	We Are Not Beautiful - PROLOGUE

Hades held the door open for his wife and held a gentle hand to the small of her back as she walked ahead of him. He knew this shop had been open at least as long as they had been married but he was so particular about his coffee that he rarely tried any shops other than the one near his home. But Persephone had convinced him to try something new this morning, spending nearly a half hour listing the perks of the unknown little coffee shop. He didn’t want to admit it, but he could certainly see the appeal; the coffee shop stood directly across the street from Tower One, the doors of the two buildings almost directly across from one another, and the bright blue shopfront was expertly painted to look like a wall of morning glories with vibrant shades of purple, blue, yellow, and green that, at first glance, looked as though they could be real if anything would grow in the Underworld. It was a stark contrast to the grey and black surrounding it. Persephone mentioned to him that the shop was run by a flower nymph that had left the mortal realm shortly before she did, leading Hades to wonder if it would turn out to be someone that she knew. Hades glanced up at the sign over the door as he followed Persephone inside, taking a moment to chuckle in appreciation at the shop name ‘UNDER GROUNDS’ made to look like stone letters set into the grass with daisies dotting the ground around the letters. 

Hades was surprised at the atmosphere inside the shop, the bright and cheery decor almost felt like he had stepped out of the Underworld completely and was suddenly in the happiest part of the mortal realm. He couldn’t ignore Persephone’s smile as she quickly selected a table and hung her coat on the coat rack beside the table, she looked to him with sparkling eyes as he took a long look around the shop. It was lit with special bulbs that mimicked sunlight, illuminating the room in a bright yellow glow rather than the usual fluorescent bulbs that cast bright, harsh lights across most businesses in the Underworld. The furniture was an eclectic mix of different wood tables and chairs, no two pieces alike in style or color, and the walls were painted in a similar fashion to the outside so that it looked as though they were surrounded by vines of various flowers and foliage that seemed to bring the shop to life. Hades could have even sworn that the biting chill of the Underworld was somehow not present in the shop as he hung his coat beside his wife’s before rolling his shirt sleeves to the top of his forearms. 

He pulled Persephone’s chair out for her to sit and smiled at her, “Would you like your usual, Sweetness?”

She glanced at the menu and gave her head a small shake, “No, actually. I’d rather have an iced caramel macchiato.” She looked down at her lap for a moment as a sentimental mist passed over her eyes, “It feels like home in here, I’d like something similar to what my mother makes for me.”

“As you wish,” Hades gave her a light kiss to the forehead and went to the counter. He had become so used to the cold of the Underworld that the ten degree difference in the shop felt like a sweltering rise in temperature, he began to consider that an iced coffee sounded like an excellent idea if they were going to enjoy their morning coffee in this peculiar little shop. He placed their orders with the dryad behind the counter, surprised at the brilliant smile that she flashed him as he paid. While he had seen plenty of nymphs working and living in the Underworld, they rarely looked quite so thrilled with their circumstances, and they certainly never seemed quite so excited to serve him. Hades pondered on the entire ambiance of this little shop that was quickly starting to seem like little oasis hidden among the cool darkness of his realm and took the little number placard to place on their table to identify which order was theirs. 

Persephone gave him a bright, appreciative smile as he sat down at the table across from her. “Thank you for coming here this morning,” she reached across the table and took his hand in her own, caressing the backs of his fingers with slow strokes of her thumb. “I know you’re very particular about your coffee, but I didn’t want to come alone.”

Hades tilted his head slightly and gave her a wicked smile, giving her hand a light squeeze as he lowered his voice to ensure that only she would hear him. “I suppose if the coffee is terrible you’ll just have to make it up to me later.” 

Persephone snatched her hand from his as a deep flush spread over her cheeks and down her neck, she giggled incredulously at his shameless joke. “One hundred percent scoundrel,” she said under her breath as she tried to regain her composure. Nearly ten years of marriage and he still made her feel the same way he did when she was 19 and had no experience in the world. 

Minthe set the iced coffees on the tray and checked the order against the receipt. She looked up at the barista - a pretty little Oceanid with silver, cropped hair and too plump lips - and smiled as she took the straws that were being offered to her. “Isaura,” Minthe glanced at the barista again as she waited for her full attention, “The ticket says dairy free, did you use soy for these?”

The barista gave Minthe a cheery nod and a bright smile, “Of course! I’d hate to be the one who poisoned the Queen of the Underworld with real milk!” 

Isaura started working on the next ticket, oblivious to the fact that Minthe had gone still as a statue, her bright red skin paling as the realization of what she had just said sunk in. Minthe spun around and scanned the dining area, her eyes almost immediately falling on the King and Queen of the Underworld. It had been a few years since they had gotten married, and Minthe had run into them plenty of times, but it never failed to fluster her when they appeared in her life yet again. Minthe looked around for any of the waitresses that were supposed to be on shift, but of course she saw no one. Minthe’s ears pinned back against her head as she realized that she would have to deliver their coffee herself, opening herself up to what would inevitably be a painfully awkward conversation. 

Isaura leaned over the counter and put a hand on Minthe’s shoulder, prompting her to look back at her friend. “They’ve always been kind, even if it is hard. Just go over there, drop the coffee off and say hello. Tell them I need help back here if you want.” 

Minthe laid her hand over her friend’s and gave her a small smile, “I know Iz, I’ll be fine.”

Isaura gave her shoulder a squeeze of encouragement and then carefully slid the tray of coffee nearer to her. Minthe sighed, her ears somehow managing to flatten even further against her raven hair. She straightened her back and lifted the tray, taking care not to let the coffee slosh over the sides of the glasses. She closed her eyes for a moment and forced a tense smile to her lips as she crossed the floor to their table. She took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she approached the table and reminded herself to just be pleasant.

Minthe cleared her throat as she set the glasses of iced coffee down on the table in front of Hades and Persephone. She didn’t say anything about knowing which coffee belonged to Hades, as his taste hadn’t changed much in the last decade. She gave him a nervous smile as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder. “Feel free to let me know if you two need anything else,” she summoned every bit of calm confidence as she inwardly panicked, wanting desperately to get away. 

Persephone gave Minthe a gentle smile, in all these years she had never given Minthe so much as a cross look and seemed to go out of her way to check on her when given the chance. “How have you been Minthe? I rarely see you since you left your job with Charon.”

Minthe nodded, pursing her lips in a tense smile. “About that, yeah. I’ve been good - _great_ actually.” Her smile widened at her own words, the realization hit her that, this time, she was telling the truth. 

Persephone seemed to notice the change in Minthe’s smile and her eyes flitted to Hades for a moment, searching for any indication that he had seen it as well. Hades was the first to speak of the two of them, “I’m glad to hear that Minthe, you know I always wanted good things for you.”

Though she gave him a small, genuine smile, her eyes dropped to the floor as the last few years of her life played out in her mind. Her life really had gotten better - she had found someone that made her truly happy and who not only encouraged her to be better but also _helped_ her be better - and she was sure that she had Hades and Persephone to thank for that, regardless of how much it had all hurt. 

Minthe looked back to him with a smile, about to thank him for his unknowing role in how her life had changed so much for the better. But before she could get the words out of her mouth she felt a pair of familiar pink, tattooed arms wrapping around her neck and her lips were captured with a pleasant bloom of passionate surprise. Minthe melted against her touch, never quite able to resist the enthusiastic charm that she was so swept up by. She pulled away from the kiss and smiled at the beautiful flower nymph entwined around her, “I’m so sorry I’m late! The appointment at the bank took longer than I expected but we’ll be able to open a second location!” 

Minthe couldn’t help but smile at her unabashed excitement, but it only took her a moment to realize that Hades and Persephone were still sitting in front of them - watching them. She wrapped an arm loosely around the nymph’s waist and turned back to the God and Goddess, “This,” she gestured to Hades and Persephone as she looked at the nymph, “is Hades and Persephone, King and Queen of the Underworld.”

“Oh!” The Nymph exclaimed with unashamed delight, “I have heard _so much_ about you two!”

Minthe looked at Hades, who was staring with a single brow raised. “This is Thea,” she said to them with a warm smile, “my business partner, and my _life_ partner.” 


End file.
